A Candidate High-velocity Exoplanet System in the Galactic Bulge

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dc.citation.issue3
dc.citation.volume169
dc.contributor.authorTerry SK
dc.contributor.authorBeaulieu J-P
dc.contributor.authorBennett DP
dc.contributor.authorBhattacharya A
dc.contributor.authorHulberg J
dc.contributor.authorHuston MJ
dc.contributor.authorKoshimoto N
dc.contributor.authorBlackman JW
dc.contributor.authorBond IA
dc.contributor.authorCole AA
dc.contributor.authorLu JR
dc.contributor.authorRanc C
dc.contributor.authorRektsini NE
dc.contributor.authorVandorou A
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-12T19:35:21Z
dc.date.available2025-03-12T19:35:21Z
dc.date.issued2025-03
dc.description.abstractWe present an analysis of adaptive optics images from the Keck I telescope of the microlensing event MOA-2011-BLG-262. The original discovery paper by Bennett et al. reports two possibilities for the lens system: a nearby gas giant lens with an exomoon companion or a very low-mass star with a planetary companion in the Galactic bulge. The ∼10 yr baseline between the microlensing event and the Keck follow-up observations allows us to detect the faint candidate lens host (star) at K = 22.3 mag and confirm the distant lens system interpretation. The combination of the host star brightness and light curve parameters yields host star and planet masses of Mhost = 0.19 ± 0.03 M⊙ and mp = 28.92 ± 4.75 M⊕ at a distance of DL = 7.49 ± 0.91 kpc. We perform a multiepoch cross reference to Gaia Data Release 3 and measure a transverse velocity for the candidate lens system of vL = 541.31 ± 65.75 km s−1. We conclude this event consists of the highest-velocity exoplanet system detected to date, and also the lowest-mass microlensing host star with a confirmed mass measurement. The high-velocity nature of the lens system can be definitively confirmed with an additional epoch of high-resolution imaging at any time now. The methods outlined in this work demonstrate that the Roman Galactic Exoplanet Survey will be able to securely measure low-mass host stars in the bulge.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.edition.editionMarch 2025
dc.identifier.citationTerry SK, Beaulieu JP, Bennett DP, Bhattacharya A, Hulberg J, Huston MJ, Koshimoto N, Blackman JW, Bond IA, Cole AA, Lu JR, Ranc C, Rektsini NE, Vandorou A. (2025). A Candidate High-velocity Exoplanet System in the Galactic Bulge. Astronomical Journal. 169. 3.
dc.identifier.doi10.3847/1538-3881/ad9b0f
dc.identifier.eissn1538-3881
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn0004-6256
dc.identifier.number131
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/72617
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherAmerican Astronomical Society, Washington
dc.publisher.urihttps://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ad9b0f
dc.relation.isPartOfAstronomical Journal
dc.rights(c) 2025 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject. Unified Astronomy Thesaurus concepts: Exoplanets (498); Gravitational microlensing (672); High-resolution microlensing event imaging (2138); Adaptive optics (2281)
dc.subjectExoplanets
dc.subjectGravitational microlensing
dc.subjectHigh-resolution microlensing event imaging
dc.subjectAdaptive optics
dc.titleA Candidate High-velocity Exoplanet System in the Galactic Bulge
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id499938
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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